The Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, set out with his Companions until they reached Lesser Badr. They began meeting the polytheists and asking them about Quraysh, and they would say, “They have gathered against you,” intending to frighten the Muslims. But the believers would reply, “Allah is Sufficient for us, and He is the Best Disposer of affairs.”

They eventually reached Badr, which had been the site of a market for them in the pre-Islamic period, where they would gather for eight days every year. The Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, remained at Badr awaiting Abu Sufyan, while Abu Sufyan had already departed from Majannah for Mecca. Thus, the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, and his Companions encountered none of the polytheists. They arrived during the market, bringing merchandise and provisions with them; they sold their goods and made two dirhams for every dirham. Then they returned to Medina safe and with gain. (1)

This is the meaning of His saying, Exalted is He: “Those who answered Allah and the Messenger”—that is, they responded. The grammatical position of “those” is genitive, as an adjective describing “the believers”; its implied sense is: Allah does not allow the reward of the believers who answer Allah and the Messenger to be lost—“after injury had afflicted them,” that is, wounds had been inflicted upon them. (2)

The statement ends here. Then a new sentence begins: “For those among them who did good”—by obeying the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, and responding to his call to campaign—“and feared Allah”—by avoiding disobedience to him—“there is a great reward.”

“Those to whom people said, ‘Indeed, the people have gathered against you, so fear them.’ But it only increased them in faith, and they said, ‘Allah is Sufficient for us, and He is the Best Disposer of affairs.’” (173)